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Triumph TR7
28,864 (TR7 cabriolet/roadster) 2,497 (TR8) |manufacturer=Triumph Motor Company |class =Sports car |layout =FR layout |predecessor =Triumph TR6 |transmission=4-speed manual 5-speed manual 3-speed automatic |related =Triumph TR8 |engine = I4 |body_style =2-door roadster 2-door coupé| |wheelbase = |length = |width = |weight = (coupé) |height = (coupé) |assembly = Speke, Liverpool, England Canley, Coventry, England Solihull plant, Solihull, England |designer =Harris Mann }} The Triumph TR7 is a sports car manufactured from September 1974 to October 1981 by the Triumph Motor Company (which was part of British Leyland) in the United Kingdom. It was initially produced at the Speke, Liverpool factory, moving to Canley, Coventry in 1978 and then finally to the Rover Solihull plant in 1980. The car was launched in the United States in January 1975, with its UK home market debut in May 1976. The UK launch was delayed at least twice because of high demand for the vehicle in the US. Design, features and variants The car was characterised by its "wedge" shape, which was commonly advertised as: "The Shape of Things to Come", and by a swage line sweeping down from the rear wing to just behind the front wheel. The design was penned by Harris Mann who also designed the wedge-shaped Princess. The car had an overall length of 160 inches (406 cm), width of 66 inches (168 cm), wheelbase of 85 inches (216 cm) and height of 49.5 inches (126 cm). The coupé had a kerbside weight of 2205 pounds (1000 kg). During development, the TR7 was referred to by the code name "Bullet". Rumours that it was earmarked as a possible replacement for the MGB are unfounded. Original full size model wore MG logos because it was styled at Longbridge which was not a Triumph factory. Power was provided by a ( in the North American version) 1,998 cc eight-valve four-cylinder engine that shared the same basic design as the Triumph Dolomite Sprint engine, mounted in-line at the front of the car. Drive was to the rear wheels via a four-speed gearbox initially with optional five-speed manual gearbox, or three-speed automatic from 1976. The front independent suspension used coil spring and damper struts and lower single link at the front, and at the rear was a four-link system, again with coil springs. There were front and rear anti roll bars, with disc brakes at the front and drums at the rear. Various British Leyland vehicles were driven by the lead characters in the British secret agent television series The New Avengers, produced between 1976 and 1977. Amongst them was a yellow TR7 hardtop driven by the character Purdey. The car was immortalised as a children's Dinky Toy and Revell construction kit. In 1978 Coca-Cola and Levi's ran promotional competitions with the top prizes being three TR7s in special red and white Coke livery. They also featured denim upholstery and genuine jean patch pockets on the door interiors. Also included were a 12V fridge in the boot and a TV in the glove compartment. Two of the three Coca Cola cars are known to still exist. There were plans to use the 16-valve (four valves per cylinder) Triumph Dolomite Sprint engine in the TR7 Sprint, see Cancelled variants. TR8 For export to the US market, Triumph created a more powerful Triumph TR8 model in 1977/78, which was a TR7 with a 3.5 L Rover V8 engine. While some genuine TR8 models stayed in Britain, these examples are exceedingly rare. Most TR8s went to the US, where they did not fare well due to both Triumph's poor build quality at the time and the unusually strong pound which peaked at around $2.40 by 1980, making Triumphs fairly expensive compared to competitors. Drophead Coupé Because of proposed US legislation on roll-over protection at the time of its launch, the TR7 was not initially available as a convertible. In early 1979, Triumph belatedly introduced a convertible version, called the TR7 Drophead Coupé (DHC), which first went on sale in the US (the original hardtop model being known as the Fixedhead Coupé, or FHC). A small number of pre-production cars were manufactured at Speke in 1977, at the same time as the pre-production TR7 V8 (later designated TR8) and TR7 Sprint cars. The British market received it in early 1980. The prototype for the convertible version of the original Harris Mann design came from Michelotti and the engineering to make it work was done by Triumph. Spider In 1980, a limited edition version of the TR7 Drophead was launched for the US market by the US importer. Called the TR7 Spider, it was available only in Maraschino Black, with reflective red striping and badging. Alloy wheels and the steering wheel from the TR8 were fitted, along with a "pewter grey" carpet and grey striped upholstery. It is thought around 1,270 Spiders were built at the Solihull factory, of which 400 were fuel-injected California cars. Most of the Spider-specific equipment consisted of dealer-installed items. Motorsports British Leyland ran a team of TR7s in rally competitions from 1976 to 1980. These cars initially used the 16-valve Dolomite Sprint engine and later switched to the Rover V8 engine (before the introduction of the TR8, so dubbed "TR7 V8"). They were reasonably successful on tarmac events but were less successful on gravel sections. The most successful driver of these cars was Tony Pond. John Buffum won the SCCA PRO Rally Championship from 1977–1980 driving TR7s and TR7 V8s. The TR7-V8 models continue to be successful in classic rallying events. Quality problems Quality problems tended to undermine the car's image in the market place. This was primarily the result of labor strife (sabotage by disgruntled unionists ) and strike mentality workforce at the Speke factory. Quality improved when production was moved to Canley and later Solihull, but it was too late to save the car's reputation. In its Frankfurt Motor Show preview edition of September 1977, the German magazine Auto, Motor und Sport reported that the engine of a TR7 press car had given up the ghost and "started to boil" while undergoing a maximum speed measurement exercise over a stretch of track as part of a road test. At the time of the report the cause of the problem was still unknown; British Leyland technicians had already been investigating the car, without comment, for nineteen days. Production volumes In total, 112,368 hardtop TR7 models were built with an additional 28,864 soft top/convertibles, and approximately 2,500 TR8 models. As part of a rationalisation introduced by BL boss Sir Michael Edwardes, the Triumph TR7 was axed in 1981. Cancelled variants TR7 Sprint A variant of the TR7 powered by the Dolomite Sprint engine (dubbed the TR7 Sprint) was developed, but never put into full production because of labour problems at the Speke factory and the factory's subsequent closure. According to a search of records at the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust (BMIHT), 62 pre-production cars, all Fixedheads, were made in three batches during 1977, at the same time as the pre-production runs for the convertibles and TR7 V8s. The cars in the first batch of TR7 Sprints were, apparently, all based on the 1977 year model body shell, with the very large filler cap and interior light on the roof. Later batches used the 1978 year model bodyshell, with the smaller filler cap and interior lights in the doors, but still with the single bump bonnet characteristic of Speke built cars. Twenty-three of the second batch of cars went to the BL Press Garage at Canley, and had S suffix SJW registrations in the 520's to 550's, e.g. SJW 540S, as on Tony Pond's TR7 V8 rally car. However, there were also two VVC registered cars run for on the test track at Webb Lane, Solihull. These press and test cars had the five-speed box and alloy wheels as standard. Many of these cars also had external transfers with the word "SPRINT" on the rear wings. Other details were the same as Speke built TR7 of the day. Some, at least, of the first batch of cars used welded tube, four-branch exhaust manifolds. The later cars had a cast-iron manifold, visually similar to, but incompatible with, that for the two-valve engine, and visually distinct from that of the Dolomite Sprint. The front brakes used larger callipers based on those of the Triumph Stag, the same as used on the TR8. The inlet manifold and carburettors were the same as those for the Dolomite, though the throttle linkage and air filter box were adaptations of those from the TR7 and Dolomite. Preparations for full production of the TR7 Sprint stopped with the closure of the Speke Plant. These cars, of which several still exist in the UK, can be identified by a different chassis number to the production 8-valve model: prefixed ACH rather than ACG, etc. The original engines are also numbered with the format CHnnnHE, rather than the VAnnnnHE format of Dolomite 16 valve engines. Despite cancelling the TR7 Sprint before full production began, British Leyland had it homologated for use in competition. Converting a two-valve TR7 to the four-valve Sprint specification is relatively simple, compared to conversion to TR8 specification, because the TR7 and TR7 Sprint share a virtually identical engine block. As a result, there are a number of such converted TR7 models around. Lynx While the TR7 was under development in the early 1970s, a 2+2 fastback derivative, codenamed Lynx was also planned. The Lynx had a wheelbase stretched by , the Rover V8 engine, with the rear axle from the Rover SD1. Scheduled for launch in 1978, the Lynx was cancelled when the Speke factory was closed. Broadside In early 1979, a joint MG/Triumph project to produce a new sportscar based on the TR7 was started under the name Project Broadside. This was based on the TR7, with a wheelbase stretched by , with either an O-Series or Rover V8 engine, and both drophead and fastback body styles. Project Broadside was cancelled later in 1979, due to a lack of funding. Examples of both Lynx and Broadside can be seen at the BMIHT, Gaydon, England. Boxer During the latter part of 1979, as an exercise in badge engineering, another MG version of the TR7 was developed under the codename Boxer as a potential replacement for the MGB. Various concepts were presented and ultimately a design from BL's American headquarters at Leonia was accepted. Major changes to the standard TR7 Hardtop were the addition of a MG type grille to the nose panel, headlights similar to those of a Porsche 928 and a new tail panel with light units from a Rover SD1. The proposal was ultimately rejected on the grounds that the car was insufficiently different from the TR7. References External links * Category:1970s automobiles Category:1980s automobiles Category:British Leyland vehicles Category:Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Category:Roadsters Category:Sports cars TR7 Category:Vehicles introduced in 1975 Category:7 (model number)